Psionic Strength Epilogue: Wild World
by a paradise bird
Summary: UPON REQUEST! Serena's life isn't as perfect as she thought it would be, when she left her parents house, she thought she would never return, now she's back with her twins in tow and having to fill the gap she created with her family.
1. Chapter 1

Serena Xavier leaned out and glanced up at the big mansion displayed in front of her, she never thought that she would ever come back to this place. It honestly looked just as the same as she left it, whether that was supposed to be good or bad, she couldn't really tell. In her mind, Serena wondered how many times was the mansion destroyed and rebuilt, it's happened more times than she could count living there. Her heart pounded out of her chest as she reminded herself not to squeeze too tight on the steering wheel. She turned to grab her purse from the backseat which was nestled between her twins.

A lot has changed since she moved out of the house, the peer pressure of being the daughter of the great Charles Xavier was more than she could bear, especially living in a boarding school with teenagers just waiting to whisper in each other's ears. On her 18th birthday, she had enough, she couldn't stand it any longer and didn't care about how many children were watching in the halls as her parents raced after her to her room to find her packing and leaving. That was the only time she didn't care about the eyes of others or even what they were planning on saying once she left. The only thing that she cared about was Jax.

Jax was a rebellious boy that belonged to the Brotherhood and being the daughter of the founder of the X-Men, that entice her. At first, she thought it was going to be just a little bit of fun but the fun quickly turned intense and then settled into a forbidden relationship. Only he truly understood what she was feeling and going through, which was why they both volunteered to leave their respective alliances together.

That changed when Serena became pregnant with twins but, still in a way, stayed the same. Charles and Rebecca were allowed to see their grandchildren, but Serena was to never go to the X- Mansion with the twins.

Until now.

"Wake up, sleepyheads!" Serena said in a light voice, "Time to see grandma and grandpa!"

Anthony slowly opened his eyes and rubbed them, "Already?"

Aria became wide awake in an instant when she looked up, "Look at how big it is! Did you used to live here, mommy?!"

"Yes" Serena glanced up, "Yes, I did"

"Wow, you were lucky" Aria continued, "You probably had a bunch of servants to give you things and treated you like a princess! How come we never used to come here until now? Was it because of daddy?"

A pang slammed into her chest, "Sort of, sweetness… let's start taking out the bags, shall we?"

Together, the little family got out of the car and finally stretched their exhausting muscles as the cool breeze embraced them, letting them know it was cooler there than where they were used to. Serena never thought a five hour drive would be too much until she brought her kids along with the never ending "Are we there yet?" questions. Serena was glad they reached their destination but then nervous for her own part, she silently wished her parents were out scouting for new students. She went over countless scenarios that she preferred rather than coming home and giving her parents an "I told you so" speech.

Serena heard her children screaming, making her turn around to see a man bounding down the stairs, running at them. Serena smiled as her little brother, David, gave the twins a big hug and held them in his arms as he asked them how was their trip. The look on the kids faces as they detailed the trip as ridiculously boring seemed almost comical to her.

David placed them down on the ground before he walked over to the car and set eyes on Serena. She suddenly felt nervous of how he was going to take her sudden homecoming.

Whether he read her mind or not, David smiled and tapped her arm.

"Is this it?" David nodded to the trunk.

Serena nodded, "It's all we own"

"Seriously?" David asked, "There's barely anything in here"

"I'm sure mother will buy them a whole new wardrobe" Serena turned to him, "Where are they?"

"On their way down" David answered, "I was just finishing with my classes when I saw you pull up"

Serena wasn't surprised, David's always been their golden boy, no wonder he chose to stay and teach as well, "What do you teach?"

"English" he answered.

Serena glanced up to the mansion, "I was expecting them to lock up the facility"

David only gave her a look before she saw more movement from the corner of her eye. Slowly walking forward was her mother, Rebecca Xavier, as she wheeled her father, Charles to the top of the stairs. Her children did the rest as they ran up the stairs and into their grandparents arms, Serena looked away from the transaction as she busied herself with her little belongings. Abel made sure to kick out Serena with only a little under an hour to pack, she would have fought more, but she knew her children would be awake soon. She couldn't bear to think of what her twins would try to understand with their mutant parents battling it out.

As much as she wanted to avoid it, Serena didn't want to drive home to her parents as her first resort, but then her mother called explaining that she called the home in order to talk to the children, Jax filled her in. Serena didn't want to get the scolding that she did over the phone at a Motel 6 but it almost felt refreshing to know her mother knew and was inviting them back to the home. At first, she thought that she would just take the kids and leave but that wasn't like her parents at all, they were perfect. It was Serena who ended up being the black sheep of the family.

Rebecca laid eyes on her daughter as Serena smiled shyly and looked away. Her mother came up to her and kissed her on the cheek like she always did when they went to meet at a mutual spot for them to see the kids. Over her mom's shoulder, she could see her father looking on.

"I'm glad you made it, dear" Rebecca said.

"Yeah, me too"

Rebecca glanced over to the bags, "I could get those for you"

"No, no, they're not heavy at all" Serena objected.

"This is all they own, mom" David said.

"_David" _Serena let out in a hushed tone.

Rebecca turned back to the bags with a different look before she said, "Well, we'll make due with what we have"

She turned to Serena, "You should go say hi to your father"

"Sure" Serena mumbled before glancing over to David.

Serena shoved her hands into her pockets as she made her way to the top of the stairs, her children were still going on and on about what they did and how excited they were to sleep in this "big castle". She could tell that even though Charles was listening to his grandchildren, his eyes were set on their mother. With each step up the stairs, she remembered them shouting at one another on her last night in this house, how everything was on display for all of the students to see. She vowed to herself to never come back under any circumstances, little did her mind knew what she was getting into. Now, Serena didn't know what could possibly be going through her father's head.

She reached the stairs and looked around at the windows, expecting to see children in each one, whispering to one another about the black sheep returning to the farm, but no one was watching, and that's when she remembered that these children weren't the same students as when she was there. She was grateful because she knew if she saw any of them again, she might punch them in the face if they even looked at her twins in the wrong way. Serena glanced down to her twins and ordered them to go and get their toys from the car. They obeyed, leaving Serena alone with Charles.

"Hi, dad" Serena said.

"Hello, Serena" Charles greeted, "You've been very busy, haven't you?"

Serena nodded, "You can say that"

"Forgive me, but your mom gave us quite a fright when she heard about your… situation" Charles mentioned.

"Believe me, I wanted to avoid coming back here" Serena blurted out.

"I see" Charles nodded, "Still have ill feelings towards this place?"

"There was a lot of things you weren't aware of" Serena said, "Being your child and student does have it's restrictions, does it not?"

"Indeed" Charles admitted, "Shall we go inside to discuss more?"

"We can decide what is to be my future here" Serena said, "But not the past… what's done is done"

Charles seemed almost surprised but then nodded and turned his wheelchair back into the house. Anthony ran past Serena as he flew his airplane up and down, Aria stopped by her mom and held her hand. David walked by with their mother in tow, not surprised that they both were holding the heaviest items first. Serena glanced up to the mansion, towering over her as if it were waiting to crush her. She gave a defeated sigh before she glanced down to her daughter and they both walked in.


	2. Chapter 2

Serena wasn't surprised when she walked into the house to see students running around, powers being displayed by the rebellious ones, and the occasional chime heard from the grandfather clock that's been in her family's home for generations. Nothing seemed to change except maybe the technology like the rest of the world as she and her kids took it all in. She glanced down to them as Anthony tugged on his sister's hand and pointed over to a floating airplane that seemed to have a life of its own. Serena felt a hint of a smile as she ran a hand through her boy's hair as he pointed to each mutant who looked different or was doing something different. She can already tell that leaving here would devastate the poor boy.

David knelt down to his niece and nephew as he went on and on about "how cool" it was to be living in a mutant school. Serena couldn't help but roll her eyes as she knew it was cool for him, but hell for her as she didn't understand how David never found it to be as suffocating as she did. He suddenly offered to give the twins a tour, which they eagerly agreed to as they reached up to take his hands. Serena was surprised by this notion as David didn't even turn to look at her as he took her kids and left her alone with her parents.

Serena closed her eyes and sighed as she suddenly found out that this was planned all along before she turned and looked to her parents. They looked to her expectantly before her mother went behind her father and wheeled him to his office, not even asking her to follow. Within a matter of minutes, Serena became a child once more as she formed her jaw and reluctantly followed her parents to a room she knew too well of.

She didn't even ask as Serena closed the door to the office and made her way to the sofa that her mom positioned the wheelchair in front of. Serena lightly sat down as her mother did the same opposite of her.

"Figured you would tell David to take my kids while you have a talk with me" Serena said.

"We just want to talk and make sure we understand everything," her mother said calmly, "First, let's start with why Jax kicked you three out of the house"

Serena stiffened, "He kicked us out because the twins aren't mutants"

"They might develop their powers late" her father said, "You were a late bloomer out of us all but your powers were extraordinary. Who's to say the twins aren't mutants-"

"A mutant who can _detect _the gene" Serena sighed, "Jax had his friend visit the kids while I wasn't home, I told him when they develop, they will develop but Jax couldn't wait. He hates humans more than anything and when they started to not exhibit any powers, he became suspicious. Ever since then, he's been a different father to them; never talking, doesn't want to play, and basically abandoned them. I was hoping he would call before you found out-"

"A man who doesn't take care of his family is no man at all" Rebecca said, "How dare he even think differently of his children just because they are humans"

Serena barely nodded in agreement with her mother as she glanced down to her hands almost as if she was the one who committed the crime. She didn't even think Jax would go this far or abandon his family that quickly when it came to their powers. She had to hold Anthony as he cried himself to sleep one night and that was barely the beginning of the recognition that she must leave. Jax made it clear that he wasn't going to go anywhere and would gladly bully their children until Serena had enough. Another part of her wanted to fight him in order to just beat some sense into him, but the mother in her chose to choose her children over her boyfriend of so many years.

She glanced up just in time to see her parents glancing over to each other as if they were in a private conversation. Serena never really knew if they actually were ever in one since their bond was so strong with on another. Serena had telepathy like her father, but she could only communicate from her mind to another which is why she was surprised that her father hadn't reached out to her mentally when he heard what was going on. He was the only mind who can reach people through great distances and yet he chose not to for his own daughter.

Whatever they were thinking, their private conversation ended as they both looked over to Serena. She was ready for whatever they had to throw at her no matter what. She straightened up and made herself appear tall for her punishment.

"We're sorry for what you've been going through" Charles said, "You should've told us the moment Jax kicked you out of the house. Whether you like to acknowledge or not, Serena, you are our family and we must look out for one another. The twins and you can stay here but you either must contribute at the school or get a job in town to help out. We have not discussed when you're deadline will be here because there isn't one, understood?"

Serena was surprised but quickly nodded her head, "Yes, dad, but what about the kids?"

"Someone will be able to watch them once you are unoccupied" Rebecca responded, "Storm, Scott and Jean are still here so they would love to get the chance to get to know them"

Serena nodded, "That's good"

"Do you think Jax will come around?" Rebecca asked, "Should we be worried about him?"

Serena scoffed, "No, I don't think so, he hates humans but I highly doubt he would go after his own children"

"He got them checked to see if they have the gene" Charles mentioned, "He's capable of a lot of things"

Once again, Serena didn't even argue for Jax's point of view as she would've in the past. She remembered getting into constant arguments with her parents just to give them proof that Jaxon was a nice guy, even though he was in the Brotherhood. Her parents have seen the injuries that their team had endured by the hands of Jax and knew this man was dangerous, but Serena didn't care, he was her first love. Now look at her, abandoned at her parents doorstep and waiting for them to say I told you so over and over again. A part of her knew her parents would never do it because unlike her parents imagined in her head, they were mature.

It almost frustrated her even more, knowing that they will never scold Serena for her wrong decision. She deserves to be punished by her parents for giving them such a headache to deal with in the first place. But that time will never come for her and she knew it, something about them that made her feel like she wasn't their daughter because they didn't discipline her when she needed it. Sometimes, they only treated Serena like one of their students and nothing more.

"Oh, we almost forgot" Rebecca sat up, "You will be in the teachers quarters of the mansion, we could only spare two rooms since our big rooms are already taken. The twins have the smaller one and we already moved everything in to make it comfortable. You will be down the hall in the slightly bigger room"

Serena looked up, "I won't be near my kids?"

"Don't worry" Charles said, "Their room is right next to ours"

"Of course it is" Serena mumbled.

"Can you blame us? We barely see our grandchildren as it is?" Rebecca countered, "And now we get the chance to be near them"

Serena nodded, "It's fair, I'm assuming it's mine and David's old room you are talking about"

"Of course," they said in unison.

"Great" Serena got up, "Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to bring their stuff up to their room"

Rebecca made a motion as if she wanted to talk more but Charles gently placed his hand on hers and nodded to their daughter. Serena didn't make any motion to act like she cared and quickly turned and left the office to gather the suitcases that were left at the door. She picked up her twins small suitcases and with her mind, lifted her own off of the floor, just barely levitating as it followed her up the stairs. Her feet automatically moved her towards a room she grew up in until she was 9 years old. She didn't know what to expect once she went to the room, whether or not it was going to be the same as when it was David's or completely different.

Rebecca doubletaked when she noticed a red haired woman standing at the top of the stairs, "Hello, Rebecca, welcome back"

"Jean" Rebecca smiled, "You never left?"

"No, Jean shook her head, "I'm glad you're back though, your parents have been talking about you all week and how you're returning"

"Is that so?" Serena barely mumbled.

Jean paused for a moment before she asked, "Do you want help with unpacking? I have a free period"

"No, it's completely fine" Serena quickly objected as she walked around her, "Thank you though"

Jean was about to offer her assistance again but was met by a closed door before she mumbled, "Just trying to help"


	3. Chapter 3

Serena sighed as she placed one of Anthony's stuff away before she smoothed out her jeans. She turned and scanned the room and finally acknowledged that it was all completely done, now she only had her room to take care of. Her knees ached as she got up for the millionth time and made her way over to Aria's bed. She hadn't even seen her kids since David took them away and wondered if they noticed that as well. She couldn't help but feel slightly jealous that her twins were so easy to forget about her and quickly started running around the new big mansion.

Serena lounged on Aria's bed, her head rolling off the side easily as she stared at the wall in an upside down angle. She predicted that Aria's side will be filled with water paint portraits in little angles as high as she could put them, meanwhile Anthony's toys will be displayed everywhere. This room was probably as big as her master bedroom that she used to share with Jax back at home. She blinked, she had to stop thinking about Jax in that way, what he did was unacceptable.

Serena slowed her breathing as she tried to take in every single inch of the room, not really wanting to get up. This was the first time in years since she's been alone and she wanted to enjoy it as much as she possibly could. Maybe this time, she could shed a tear for all the hardcomings she had to face.

"You know, if you stay like that, you're going to start to see red" a voice said from the entrance.

Serena turned to see David at the doorway, "Where's my kids?"

"With their grandparents" David walked in, "They're getting ice cream"

"Before dinner!?" Serena picked her head up.

"Damn, you really are a mother" David nodded to the back, "They're in the garden picking vegetables and talking to mom's rabbits outside"

"She has rabbits?" Serena asked.

"Yup!" David nodded, "She has a bunch of animals, there are a few students here with animal-like abilities so mom and I teach how to talk to them, control them, and even transform into one of them"

"Animal telepathy" Serena mentioned, "I'm aware that you and mom share the ability"

David hesitated as Serena slowly got up and played with the design on her daughter's bedspread. It felt weird to see his sister back at the house after all of these years, they were close when they grew up but things started to change within the last 2 years she was at the house. That's when she started to date Jax and David believed that he was the source of their problems and why there was a strain in their relationship. He wasn't too worried about Serena reading his mind, that was his form of telepathy, as far as he was aware, she could only hold conversations. He started to see that her powers didn't develop into something more since she didn't pick up on how hard he was thinking about her.

It was tempting to go into her mind and see what his older sister was thinking but he chose not to. It was going to be the first night here for her and he didn't want her thoughts to be violated in any sort of way. David glanced around the room as he took in how she made up the twin's room, almost perfectly balanced with girl and boy stuff. It bothered him though that even with the stuff that she brought, it wasn't enough to fill ¼ of the regular size room.

"Do they know what their father did to them?" David asked suddenly.

Serena picked up her head before she slowly shook it, "I don't know, at least I hope not. For all they know, Jax is going through a rough time and we should stay at grandpa and grandma's house for a while. That's what I told them and that's what they seem to believe"

"They were happy you were coming here" David sidenodded, "Given the circumstances"

Serena scoffed, "Yeah, because their grandchildren will be close to them, not me"

"You don't understand" David argued, "You were always constantly in mom's thoughts to the point that I had dreams about you. She worried about you and wanted to see you often. When you called, telling them that you were pregnant, it gave her hope that you will see them more than you did-"

"It wasn't my choice" Serena snapped, "It was Jax's"

"Come again?" David asked.

Serena bit her lip before she glanced back down to the bedsheet, wanting to get lost in them. This was the hardest part that she will ever have to admit, especially to her brother. She wasn't hoping to tell them about this until at least a week into her stay at best but it just so happened that fate wanted her to bring it up now. Her heart pounded out of her chest as she wondered how will she bring this information up to her parents now that her brother will know. Serena looked up to her brother as he patiently waited for her to explain herself.

"Jax made very strict rules when it came to our children" Serena began.

"Why am I not surprised?" David rolled his eyes, "What kind of rules are we talking here?"

Serena swallowed, "That we will never visit the X-Mansion under any circumstances. Spend only a certain amount of time with mom and dad. Didn't want to visit but always wanted us to have it close by to our home… that's why I had to make mom drive all the way to our state in order to see their grandchildren"

David let out an exhausted sigh as he tried his best not to pace in the twins room, anger was slowly boiling up inside of him. He knew that if he let even a little bit out, an earthquake will happen on campus and their parents will know it's him. He could only chuckle and shake his head at the irony of it. Serena, his strong willed sister, was in a damaging relationship all this time and he didn't even think to put the pieces together. He felt like an idiot just hearing the rules that Jax laid out.

Whenever he would hear that Serena wanted his elderly parents to drive all the way over to her, he despised his older sister. He thought that she was being selfish and not considering the state their parents were in. The last couple of times they had to drive out to meet their grandchildren, Scott had to take them. Each time, Scott would grumble about how Serena had changed and doesn't even want to have a conversation for old time sakes.

Now, looking at his sister, he finally understood why she didn't argue with Jax about it. He was from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and she was the daughter of Professor X, a sheltered daughter. What would she know about what was right or wrong within a relationship?

David slowly stepped up to the bed and looked down to his sister as he looked up, tears begging to overflow her eyes. He slowly sighed and did the only thing that he thought he could do at the time.

He swooped down to the bed and hugged his sister tight and told her that she was safe in this house that she didn't want to come back to.


	4. Chapter 4

David and Serena agreed to let Serena be the one to tell their parents about how she was treated in the past. They both knew that their dad would respect her boundaries of not looking into her mind to force anything out of her so she was thankful for that. The first couple of days, it seemed awkward to her, especially because when she left she technically was a student and now, she had no alarm to wake up and rush to classes. Serena was literally on the outside looking in and of course, her children were loving every minute of being with family that they spent so little time with. Almost everyday one of the three had the morning off and wanted to be with her children, for this particular morning, it was her father's time off.

Serena sighed as she flapped out the newspaper as she leaned over the jobs section and skimmed through it. Her last job was at the library that shared the same yard as her twins which she found ideal while Jaxon worked at an underground mutant bar as a bartender. So far, nothing seemed available and she wanted her last choice to be working for her parents as anything just to show she has a shred of responsibility. A shadow passed over her newspaper as a teacher came in for coffee.

A voice let out, "Welcome home"

Serena picked up her head, "Hi, Scott"

He turned around and looked at her, "So what brings you back into the mansion? Surprised that you even remembered the way back at all"

"My parents never told you guys?" Serena seemed surprised.

"Nothing" Scott said, "Just that you were coming back with the twins and something didn't go well with Jax. Surprise, surprise"

Serena pursed her lips tightly, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you"

"No, I understand that you thought yourself as a princess" Scott fired back, "You didn't want to cross state lines to see your parents so you made them drive over to see you for only an hour and a half. You got some nerve asking them for help after what they did for you. God, Serena, you're acting like me when I was a teenager-"

Serena got up from the table with hopes of screaming at Scott when the door suddenly opened to reveal her mother. She only took one glance between the two before her eyes rested on Scott, this surprised Serena as to why her mother immediately took her side. Scott just sighed as he muttered a _whatever _and marched out of the room. Rebecca didn't even look fazed as Serena turned her attention to her mother with a questionable look on her face. Rebecca bowed her head as she slowly walked over to the long table in the kitchen meant for the staff.

"Forgive, Scott, he's been going through a rough time" Rebecca paused, "He and Jean were in a steady relationship throughout most of their adolescent and adulthood but things changed. To make the story short, Jean is now with a new man and Scott is not taking it too lightly. You're not the only one whom he's yelled at so don't take it into offense. I'm sorry we didn't think to tell you sooner"

"No need" Serena mumbled, "That explains everything actually"

Serena slowly sat down as she picked up the paper once again, disregarding her mother. She stood patiently as she glanced over to her daughter skimming the newspaper for a job. Rebecca wished she would've found a job within the facility before searching outside of her home. She wanted to tell her daughter that they didn't mean for her to do it that way. They actually wanted her to work for the mansion just so she could be around the future of many mutants.

Instead of speaking her mind, she stayed quiet as she turned back around and picked up a few things and brought them to the sink. It was anything to get her mind off of her estranged daughter back in their home. She almost felt like there was a stone wall between them that even she couldn't manipulate into moving away. The more she wanted to open her mouth and speak to her daughter, the more the bubble formed and she couldn't even utter a word.

She turned back around as she thought of something but Serena didn't even pick up her head to look at her. It caused a pang through her as she didn't realize having a daughter will be so hard. Rebecca thought it would've been easier to have a daughter since, well, she was one.

Rebecca got the courage to sit down off to the side of her daughter which Serena slowly glanced up to see her sitting with an apple turnover, proving that she wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Serena folded the newspaper as she cleared her throat and placed the newspaper off to the side.

She finally got the message that her mother was trying to send.

"I had some of the apple turnovers, they're great" Serena complimented.

"Thank you" Rebecca smiled, "The advanced students made them, I will definitely tell my class you enjoyed them"

"So they know who I am?" Serena asked.

"Of course," Rebecca said, "It's been five days since you've moved into a boarding school and haven't worked in the facility with two kids, students talk"

"Yeah, I know they do" Serena scoffed, "Most of being bullied happened here"

Rebecca hesitated as she remembered how hard it was, especially for Serena. The students bullied her for being the Headmaster's daughter, got good grades because she's the headmasters daughter, and even if they intervened Serena's being babied because she's the Headmaster's daughter. No matter what angle they tried to help Serena with, she was constantly being bullied. If there were another school like the Xavier's she would've considered moving her daughter there for the sake of not being bullied. Rebecca blamed the bullying for the separation of Serena and their family.

David was never bullied while he attended the school, either that or he never let it get to him as much as Serena. He was more sociable and had plenty of friends, more than Serena. Rebecca compared her time at the school similar to Jean's time, but unfortunately, there was no Scott Summers to come to her aid, only Jax. Thinking of the man abandoning his own children made Rebecca want to throw a car at him, and that was only the surface.

Talking about the past made Serena think back to how she used to be bullied at school, she hated whenever her parents found out because they always wanted to intervene. It didn't stop, in fact, it just made everything worse, Serena even surprised herself with how long she stayed. She sometimes wished she had super strength so she could throw those girls out of the window.

Serena was actually glad that she was raising non-mutants as children, she didn't want them to go through the hell she went through. That was one less problem she had to deal with.

"You know, maybe we could go into town sometime" Rebecca suggested, "Just you and me, we can catch up"

Serena nodded, "Sure, that'll be fine"

Rebecca brightened, "I'm off on Tuesday, we shall do it then"

"Sure" was only what she said again.

"Well, um, I- I have a class to go to now" Rebecca said slowly, "Hopefully, I'll see you later"

"Okay" Serena said as lightly as she could.

Rebecca hesitated before she said, "Please try to talk to your father? He misses you terribly and… doesn't really know how to approach you about this"

"_He_ doesn't know how to approach _me?" _Serena asked.

"Serena, it's been difficult for him," Rebecca tried to reason, "Give him a chance, he is your father after all"

Serena thought for a moment before she muttered, "Okay"


	5. Chapter 5

Professor X wrote another correction on his student's paper for as he flipped the page. He found a slight peace in correcting papers, more than dealing with other things. But now he has a new distraction, his grandkids now within living quarters of himself. He almost forgot how much of a joy children were at five years old. He was just about to get lost in his thoughts about his grandchildren when a voice echoed through his head.

"_Hi, dad" _

Charles paused as he glanced up from his paper, "_Hello, Serena, how are you adjusting?"_

"_It's better than when I was a teenager" _Serena's voice echoed through his head, "_I didn't know if you were busy so I chose to communicate like this"_

"_I have time" _the Professor responded, "_And I can always talk through telepathy, it's quite soothing and I prefer it rather than actually speaking"_

"_You and me both" _Serena commented, "_Thank you for letting me and my kids to stay here"_

"_Of course… you should've talked to us first before trying to go about it on your own. You have a family here even when you don't want to admit it to yourself sometimes" _Charles said.

Serena hesitated before she said, "_I know, it's just that I wanted to try to survive without the help of my parents for a time"_

"_I understand" _Charles said, "_Still, we were worried about you when your mother called and found out through Jax… we used Cerebro to make sure you were alright"_

From her room, Serena blinked in surprise by her father's confession. He would never use Cerebro unless he absolutely needed to. She didn't think that her father would use Cerebro to locate her unless she didn't pick up the phone. Serena wasn't mad that her father used his secret weapon to find her, she was surprised. She never knew that he would even worry about her after she left things with her family the night she left.

Ever since she learned how to communicate through the minds of others, she and her father would often communicate telepathically to each other. It made their bond stronger and also strengthened her power the more she talked to her father. She did have to admit that she missed talking to her father like this, whenever they would talk, his voice would send tingles down her spine. It was comforting to know she shared one of her father's greatest abilities.

She did have to admit that Serena had to concentrate in order to talk to her dad, a muscle she hasn't exercised in years. Serena never really wanted to use her power on her twins because she feared they would be jealous and want to become a mutant more than anything. She couldn't even remember when was the last time she spoke telepathically to anyone besides her father.

It was strange, how everything changed when she became a mother, she always thought she would be the most carefree mother and let her children do whatever they wanted. She was going to be everything her parents weren't to her.

Oh, how she was wrong on so many levels.

"_I wanted to say how sorry I was how I left things here" _Serena said, "_I shouldn't have run out like that while you and mom were just protecting me. I thought I knew I what I was doing at the time and for a moment it was great. It's just that life came slamming back into us before we even knew it. I often wanted to come back and apologize but…"_

"_Jax was controlling you," _her father said.

Serena looked up to the wall as if her father was there, "_What? How did you know about that?"_

"_My dear, I've seen certain situations what mutants are in; either with humans or not, the situation is still the same," _her father explained, "_I saw the signs and wanted to keep you here for as long as I possibly could, but that only seemed to anger you. When you left, I wanted more than anything to go after you myself but I knew you were stubborn and the only way you learned was through your own mistakes. I never told your mother because she would've rained down gavel onto Jax if she knew the things I did"_

Serena nodded, "_No, you're right. I never really woke up until recently… Jaxon was good to the kids, don't get me wrong, but he slowly started to isolate us from the world, even wanted the children homeschooled because they won't be around mutants. It started to get very tiresome having to fight with him all the time"_

Serena remembered waking up just to see Jax was going to pick on another topic for them to bicker about, then the same thing happens at the dining table and another before bed. Her parents thought she was stubborn but Jax was relentless on his beliefs. She was hoping that eventually she could change him but it proved to be more of a difficult task than anything. Serena found that the last couple of months, it was draining to her to even consider standing her ground, but Serena had a bunch of non-mutant friends that would constantly come to her mind that she wanted her boyfriend to see. She believed that if she couldn't change her boyfriend, how was she going to raise her children with her beliefs.

She knew she had a lot of work to do and her constant reminder was that her children will always be watching her. Serena needed to put the past aside and strengthen her bond back with her parents and brother. She lost touch with them once because of love and she wasn't going to let that happen again. Jax's behavior was her wakeup call that he wasn't going to change for their children, so she will.

Serena was at least happy that her parents weren't showering her any ill will in front or even behind her twins, for that, she was thankful for. She wasn't aware of how much they knew through the little interactions that she had of her parents but she was hoping they didn't catch on. She had to be a role model to her children and prove that even when you were different, you still have family.

She straightened herself up and smoothed out her jeans, Serena needed to find her twins. She needed to create more of a family atmosphere for them.

"_Dad, do you remember what day it is?" _Serena asked.

"_It's Tuesday" _her father responded.

"_No, it's picnic-in-the-backyard day" _Serena smiled, "_You remember those, right?"_

Charles smiled, "_How could I ever forget them?"_

"_Do you want to tell everyone and I will get the food ready?" _Serena asked, "_My telepathy isn't as strong as it once was"_

"_Of course, dear" _Charles said, "_I will let everyone know"_

"_Perfect"_


	6. Chapter 6

Serena watched from the sidelines a little while longer as she took in her brother, twins, and parents all around the little white table in her mother's garden. She remembered almost instantly what were the special activities for the days of the week whenever both of her parents had days off, Tuesdays were always picnic's in the garden. Right now it was fall, so for Serena it was beautiful to see the different colors all around her family and the vegetables all plump and ready to be picked around them. This vision of her family could almost convince her that this was all a dream.

She deeply inhaled and walked out from her hiding spot behind a tree and made her way over to her family. The second her feet touched the gravel, Aria looked up and smiled, practically screaming out her name upon her arrival. Serena smiled as her daughter jumped down from her place, ran around the table, and hugged her in a beartight hug.

Aria took her hand and led her back over to the table as her heart swelled and fluttered at the motion that her daughter wanted her to sit next to her. She sat down in between Aria and her mother as she wasn't surprised that there was food already made for this event.

Serena stole a look over to her father who gave her an approving wink for the suggestion of tradition.

"I'm sorry that our food is chili this luncheon" Rebecca announced, "It's been a long while since we've actually done something like this"

"Everything looked lovely, dear" Charles complimented his wife.

"I honestly missed your cooking" Serena confessed.

Her mother moaned as she cupped the side of her cheek, "Thank you"

"I wish mom would cook us chili ," Anthony said, "Your's is the best I've ever had, grandma!"

"Anthony!" Serena gasped.

Her twins shared a giggle as even Serena knew it was true as David leaned down, "That's why I never left"

"Alright, alright" Serena rolled her eyes at her family.

And it was just like that, everything quickly came back to normal; no awkward gaps, no accusations, not even a wanted public explanation. A small part of her wanted Jax to have been present in order to see what the bond of family was like and not because they were all mutants. She allowed herself to feel sad about her ex-boyfriend and how he could never fully recover his trust for humans.

Serena turned and pet Aria's hair as she looked down and noticed a new fancy dress on, perfect for a tea party. She turned slightly and looked to her mother who only smiled a guilty smile before she started to eat her soup.

She honestly couldn't complain about her mother's decision as she bowed her head down to eat as well.

"How goes the search for a job, Serena?" David asked, "Find anything in town?"

Serena shook her head, "Not yet, a couple of retail stores and some restaurants but that's it, I'd have to look in the next couple of towns over if I really wanted to look"

"Does that mean we're leaving soon?" Aria asked.

Serena paused before she said, "No, honey, it was just conversation"

"Well, if you really are interested" Rebecca slowly said, "The library needs a new librarian…"

"Rebecca" Charles warned.

"What?" Rebecca asked innocently, "We really do need a librarian, all of our teachers volunteer on their free time"

"What happened to the last librarian?" Serena asked.

The three exchanged glances before David said, "We never really had one for a while, we assigned Logan to the task but that's because we were that desperate"

There was that name again, _Logan, _her mother mentioned someone that stole Jean away from Scott. She then realized that she's never really met the man who broke them apart but everyone still talked like they were still together.

She wondered why it was like that.

"Have I met him before?" Serena asked.

"He comes and goes as he pleases" Rebecca scoffed, "That's why we didn't give him a teaching position, the man likes to run off! He'll be here one day and gone the next, only Jean knows when he will come back.

"And why don't you ask Jean?" Serena asked.

"They have these weird dream visits"

Serena couldn't help but grimace at the thought of the couple in the dreamworld.

"Well, if the job is open then there's no reason why I shouldn't be involved" Serena stated.

The Xaviers all glanced to her in surprise, "Really? You would work as the librarian?"

"She used to work as one near our school," Anthony said, "She said it was to keep an eye on us"

"Still is" Serena glared at him, "I can never be too careful with a boy like you running around"

Anthony smiled as Charles said, "We don't want to force this upon you, Serena"

"It's fine, dad" Serena said, "I need time to be back here with family"

"You're gonna wish you never said that" David mumbled.

"David" Rebecca turned to her son.

"What?" David shrugged, "This place is like a leech, you can never leave without it wanting you to come back. Dad tried to leave this place behind at some point"

Their dad just chuckled and waved his hand out to his son as if he said something ridiculous. At that time, their father didn't know whether or not to sell their home estate or just keep it for the time being but was glad he did. Their home became a refuge place for the first X-Men to ever existed. Serena remembered the tale before Serena loved to hear about how the X- Men finally came to life.

She was sure that her father has told that story over a billion times to millions of boys and girls that walked through their doors. Each and every single one, he treated them like his own children, something she never really saw until she left the house. Some of those children actually needed a parent to show they're proud of them, Serena remembered the few where they would leave them on the doorsteps of the X- Mansion to be someone else's problem.

It was her parents big heart that made those children become something better for themselves. Serena remembered how Rebecca would look to each child with care and love.

Still to this day, she does and that is what made Serena wanted to be the bigger and better person.


	7. Chapter 7

Serena watched as the children came into the brightly lit room of the library as some sat in groups and others sat alone. The morning light made the library almost have a heavenly touch as she was even surprised that most children were even this quiet being together. Judging by how it's November, Serena could only imagine that finals are just around the corner for them and the majority were more nervous than excited for the next month to come.

She found this do-able since she wasn't ready placing a stern hand on mutant adolescence and them having smart mouth remarks. At her last job, this would've never happened and been this quiet under any circumstances.

Serena was just scanning the room once more when Scott fast trotted in and came right up to her desk before stopping and staring at her with what she could guess was bewildered eyes under his ruby shades.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked in a not-so-soft voice.

"I am the new librarian" Serena stated.

Scott scoffed, "We don't have a new librarian, I'm the librarian on this shift-"

Serena seemed surprised, "Well, if I'm not a librarian and _you _are, you don't mind me telling Charles that you were an hour late to your shift?"

Serena checked her watch, "The library is supposed to be open from 8 AM to 6 PM, right?"

"Listen, I've been going through a ton of shit, alright-"

"Jean dumped you"

"What?"

"Not that hard to figure out" Serena slowly shook her head, "You guys were conjoined to the hip last I was here and now it seems you avoid her and she always asks for you. You try to busy yourself in places you would never think she would find you but it's a small school and whenever you notice her around, you pack up and leave. Honestly, Scott, you make these children seem smarter than you sometimes"

Scott opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out as he turned back around to see nearly all the students staring at the pair. The second his head turned to them, all busied themselves like as if nothing even happened.

He made a growl as he turned back around to Serena who had her hands clasped and looking up at him expectantly, as if waiting for him to fight back.

"That obvious, huh?" he finally said.

Serena blinked before she quickly recovered, "Pretty much… you can sit here and drink your coffee if you want, it's my first day here"

"You actually _want _me here?" Scott asked, "I thought that you would be sending me off to my room as of now"

Serena shrugged, "What good would that do?"

Scott hesitated, his first instinct was to go out and go back to his room but he found himself walking behind the desk and sitting by the wall.

"So you decided to stay?" Scott asked.

"For the meantime" Serena shrugged, "My children love being around their grandparents… they're the only ones they have"

"Jax doesn't have any family?" Scott asked, "Doesn't sound so surprising"

"His father's side hate him… both of his grandparents too" Serena swallowed, "His mom only sends holiday and birthday cards to a post office box that she keeps open for him, his grandparents on that side are deceased. Pity… they loved him"

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for him?" Scott asked.

Serena hesitated, wanting to fight for him but had to remind herself of the situation they were in before she said, "No"

Scott was quiet for a moment before he said, "You deserved better"

Serena couldn't help but smile and say, "You too"

Scott looked up to Serena as he noticed her gentle smile before a young boy approached the desk. She quickly turned around and helped the man as he was returning a book and taking out two more. He glanced down to his cup of coffee, still warm in his hands as he decided now would be a perfect time to drink it. Serena picked up the small stack and moved behind the desk to put them back in their rightful place.

His mind flashed to those times he would see Jean glance over to Logan as if he wasn't looking, he knew Logan was more of a nomad so when he decided to stay, he knew something was up. He just wished that it was his mind playing tricks on him, that he was being paranoid, and Jean was faithful as ever. But his instinct was right, Jean was more interested in Logan than their relationship, funny, he was thinking about proposing to her their next anniversary.

Jean can sense his pain and has been trying to make sense with it now that Logan went on a road trip, her focus was back on him for now. He found it nauseating, knowing that the woman he loved was trying to see if he was alright with dumping him for a scumbag.

He blinked out of his misery as Serena walked back to the desk.

"Did I disturb a precious thought?" Serena asked.

"More like stopped one" Scott mumbled.

Serena stopped before she said, "Yeah, those tend to plague your mind… it'll get better-"

"Says the person whose ex doesn't follow her around looking for attention," Scott said, "I wish I had your situation-"

"Twins who want to know when daddy is going to call them and when he'll see them" Serena cut him off, "No, with me it's fine. I try to block out thoughts of him but it's difficult when you have kids who love him and are still waiting"

Scott nodded for a moment, "I'm sorry"

"Don't be" Serena waved it off, "I'm just glad that for the meantime, they're distracted"

Scott said, "They have family here, that's good… you know Charles would've never let you stay out there alone if you had told him in the first place"

"Yeah… I know"

She couldn't begin to say how grateful she was to her family and how they weren't like Jax's. With her toxic relationship to Jax, however, she has a lot of making up to do that she's willing to do it. She's just happy that she could have a place that can always call her home.

The bell rang, snapping her back into reality as she blinked and watched as all of the children started to leave. She straightened herself up as she knew some students would leave their books and paper out everywhere and it was her duty to clean it up.

What she wasn't expecting was to have Scott get up and do the same thing.


	8. Chapter 8

Serena folded her children's clothing as she moved around the room, she found that being busy was something she enjoyed as she can practically feel the roots growing deeper and deeper into her home. Even though her twins were around mutants and see them using their powers at freewill, they never once seemed to ask why they never had any, they were still in the phase of life where they would rather imitate than actually have abilities.

She barely walked by the door when she jumped from seeing her father at the doorway.

"Jesus, dad!" Serena let out, "You scared me"

"I'm sorry" he apologized before he looked to her quizzically, "I tried communicating to you but you couldn't read me"

"Oh… I was busy" Serena said.

"Even when you used to be studying you could hear me," her father said, "It was almost like second nature to you"

"Yeah, well… I didn't really use my telepathy as much as I did back then" Serena glanced down, "I felt like I had no reason to"

"You never practiced your power?" Charles asked before he hesitated, "What about Jax?"

"Jax would use his on a regular basis" Serena scoffed and rolled her eyes, "But after I gave birth to my twins, I didn't want to exclude them from powers so… I cut down on mine"

Charles slowly nodded as he remembered how he and Rebecca were considering not using their powers around Serena so much when she didn't express powers for a time.

"And that also included your telepathy" Charles pieced together.

"Well, out there there's no one who I could really hold a conversation without being all over the news" Serena shrugged, "And I can't hold nearly as long of a distance as you"

"I see…" Charles nodded, "Well, then, let's begin"

"I'm sorry, what?" Serena blinked.

"To my office" Charles said, "We will have to begin our lessons, seems we have to strengthen that muscle again"

"But, I can do that on my own" Serena argued but Charles already turned his chair and left the doorway.

Serena opened her mouth again to call her father but then just growled as she turned and marched down the stairs as how she used to. It was funny how things still didn't change such as her father leaving and her following him. She almost had a flashback on watching the back of his chair as he went down to the elevator in order to lead her to his office. Serena also knew that no ounce of power or words could change

Serena knew her father wouldn't say a word until they went to the office, kind of his tick for making students follow him instead of hoping to get the deed done before going to his office. Today, it was still the same as Serena leaned herself onto the elevator wall as her father looked ahead as if she wasn't even there in the first place. She couldn't help but give a massive eye roll and a shake of her head.

The doors swung open as she waited for her father to wheel out and turn left as she passed students on the common floor. The commotion is nothing unusual and the Professor leading anyone wasn't something they weren't used to.

As they passed a hall, a small tug made Serena stop and look down to see Anthony had found her.

"Mommy, look at what Scott gave me!" Anthony yelled out as he held up a toy, "He says it's a … uh, connectable?"

"Collectable" Scott appeared behind him, "So I'll only let you borrow it alright?"

Anthony nodded excitedly as he glanced down to his toy as Serena said, "You really want to gamble your toy's life with a hyperactive boy?"

Scott shrugged, "Weren't we all at one point? Your son was getting bored because Aria was always winning on what to do with playtime so Storm took up her offer on having to play dress up and I took Anthony to see my collectable car models"

"Ahh… divide and conquer on twins" Serena slowly nodded, "Who would've thought that could work out?"

Scott laughed, "It's the least we could do, where are you going? Wanna play racing with the boys?"

A throat cleared down the hall as they turned to see Professor X waiting, Serena turned and shrugged, "Apparently my private lessons are a must… maybe later"

Scott didn't seem surprised as he nodded and patted Anthony on the back and pointed to the backyard. Anthony eagerly nodded as Serena bent down to his level, knowing he knew what it meant as Anthony leaned in to peck her on the lips. Serena beamed as her child jumped for joy with the car and ran at full speed out of the mansion. She could've sworn she saw Scott cringe before he gave her a wave and ran after the little boy.

Serena couldn't help but giggle as she turned and follow her father to his office. This time, he waited until she passed him in order to turn his wheelchair around and follow her into his room. She knew this routine all too well as she walked over and plopped herself down onto the chair and waited expectedly.

She could hear the soft hum of her father's chair as he came into view and got comfortable in front of her. He stared at her for a few minutes, almost as if taking her in or wondering where to begin.

"You and Scott seem to be getting close," he began.

Serena's eyes popped up, "What?"

"I've been noticing that you and Scott seem to be spending more quality time together," her father said, "He goes to the library-"

"Because that was his previous shift" Serena scoffed.

"Even after you got the job as a librarian" he continued, "He plays with the twins whenever he has free time-"

"Everyone does-"

"He didn't even let me touch his collectables and he gives it to a child?" her father went on, "And I have seen that you have even waited outside of his classroom when his was in session"

"Dad, we've both been through something similar" Serena said, "We've been burned by a love we thought would last forever and don't know what to do with the lost time. It's refreshing to know that Scott has gone through something like my situation, it gives me closure knowing someone has been through what I've been through"

She then leaned in so her father could understand better, "And no, there is nothing between us, just friendship"


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh, come on, Charles, and you believe that?!" Rebecca said later that night.

"Well, I don't know what to believe to be honest" Charles chuckled, "She said it and so I have to believe it, and before you even ask; I'm not going to read her mind to know if she is telling the truth"

"I wasn't going to ask you to do it" Rebecca replied back, "It would've been an invasion of her privacy. But I can't help but notice that they have been-"

"Rebecca" Charles smiled and shook his head, "Please, don't do this again. Everytime one of our children starts hanging out with the opposite sex, you immediately jump to the same old conclusions. You know, the more you do that, the more frustrated they get with you"

Rebecca pursed her lips, "Well, I know that, they always tell me. I just can't help but wonder between those two. You know, ever since Serena has come back in our lives, I've been… watching her, just to see if she's really happy or just…"

"She is happy here" Charles said firmly, "Otherwise, she never would've stayed for this long"

Rebecca could only nod as she turned and went back to brushing her hair before going to bed as Charles watched her from the bed.

"You know… I think Serena coming around is nothing but perfect timing"

"Oh? How so?"

"We were just in talks of evicting Scott when she came onto our doorstep" Charles paused, "I believe she is right when she told me that they need to lean on each other because of their experiences"

Rebecca stopped for a few minutes before she said, "Yes, I believe you're right, I forgot that"

She wished, "It hasn't been easy for Scott; living in the same mansion as your former flame, having her move on to the man you despise the most, and seeing them happy together. Serena's the one who has it better if you ask me, at least that man hasn't come knocking on our door as of yet and I tell you, Charles, if he did! I would bury him under every stone on campus"

"Not before I turn him into a vegetable first" Charles joked.

Rebecca turned around and smiled at him before she said, "Have you been keeping an eye on him? Jax? Do you know where he is?"

"Right now he is enjoying himself in England with a few of his Brotherhood friends doing the same old mischief that he was doing here" Charles answered, "Of course I keep an eye on him, I don't want him coming anywhere near the twins and harming them"

Rebecca nodded, "It's for the best that they're here, she has more family than she knows"

The rays of the sun were barely breaking through the cafeteria room as they hit the stained glass high above. Once the rays reflected on the light, it gave the eating room a "feel good" pleasant atmosphere with the smell of breakfast wafting into everyone's noses. The sound of laughter, talking, and plates being moved around on every table seemed to increase as the sun poked through. Everyone was awake and getting ready for their new day to start with all of their challenges ready to be faced.

Serena let out a loud laugh as she covered her mouth when Storm mentioned a mishap that happened during a mission that Scott was involved in. She glanced over to her friend who seemed to have a blush form on his cheeks as he took a long sip from his coffee. Almost as if he knew Serena was going to badger him, Scott leaned across the table and decided to talk to the twins.

She turned and looked to her children whom she caught the eye of Anthony as she blew him an air kiss. He didn't return the gesture but he smiled bigger as Aria talked fast and excitedly to Scott.

She turned to Storm who had taken the quick pause to take a bite out of her breakfast.

"I actually forgot what it was like to be like this" Serena turned and looked around the room, "To be with a bunch of our kind and be a family, not thinking that we're above everyone else"

"Are you referring to the Brotherhood?" Storm asked.

"They had a few parties at the end of every year" Serena shrugged, "I went of course, but it became exhausting hearing the same thing; we're better than humans, humans should be slaves to us, but my favorite was always when they would talk about mischief they wanted to pull off but the X-Men interfered"

"They talked about us" Storm huffed, "Probably a lot seeing how they rarely get what they want"

Serena nodded, "It made me glad to hear your names pop up every once in a while, it gave me reassurance that you all were alright"

"And you never wanted to drop by and see for yourself?" Storm asked.

Serena paused, "More times than I could count but Jax would tease me into thinking that it was because I was a sheltered daughter and eventually those feelings would leave me"

But they never did, Serena always had an ache in her heart for her family and the X-Mansion, especially when Jax would go off to his end -of-the- year gatherings with his friends and Serena was left with the twins. Even before the twins were born, she was never brought around to be one of the females friends, they always thought she was a spy and never wanted her around in the first place. She had love with Jax but with that love came loneliness for family as he manipulated her thinking into thinking that her parents never wanted her back.

She glanced over to her parents as she watched them share a smile to each other and Rebecca leaned in and pecked her dad on the lips. A faint warmth filled her chest as she was happy to know that her parents were still having a strong marriage after all these years.

Serena turned to her kids once more as she knew that they would be forever safe in a place like this.


	10. Chapter 10

Serena picked up a pile of books and scanned the aisle until she found the correct slot for the book as she stuck it into place. Her fingertips felt the ups and downs of the books until she stopped and placed another one back in it's normal place. She continued to do this until all of the books were out of her arms and she had to go back for more.

When she went over to the rack, she peeked out over to her twins and watched for a little bit as they were both coloring side by side. It was a rare occasion for her children to want to spend time with her instead of doing something "fun" with other students.

Serena turned and gasped when she almost bumped into Jean who was standing directly behind her.

"I'm sorry" Jean said, "I didn't mean to frighten you"

Serena sighed, "No, it's fine, I was preoccupied. Is there a book that you need?"

"No" Jean cracked a smile, "I've grown up here so I'm sure I would be able to find the books on my own, no offense"

Serena shrugged, "A lot can change from then"

Jean slowly nodded, "I've seen you've fit in quite comfortably and your kids are just a dream to be around"

On the mention of her twins, Serena couldn't help but smile and glance back to them before she said, "Yeah, I'm sure they've bothered you already, Aria was saying she wants to play with every single mutant in this mansion"

"Well, she's got her work cut out for her then" Jean chuckled and paused, "Scott's always wanted children"

Serena tensed up, "Did he now?"

Serena picked up a handful of books and walked around Jean Grey as she tried to busy herself with her work, she had a sense of where this conversation was going to go. True, it's sad to know Jean and Scott broke up but she didn't want to be the middleman and try to mold them back together while damaging the friendship she already had with Scott.

Jean didn't seem to get the picture as she turned and followed her through the aisles.

"I just want him to talk to me again," Jean said, "He avoids me, that's plain and clear to everyone. I figured that sense you were close to him that maybe you could let him know I didn't mean for us to be this way"

"Why don't you ask Storm to do it?" Serena asked.

"She doesn't want to get involved in our mess" Jean sighed, "Says it will sever her ties as a friend to both of us if she tries to help"

"Maybe she's right" Serena shrugged.

Serena placed her last book on the shelf when she realized it was a dead end, she closed her eyes and cursed herself, not afraid of if Jean could hear it or not.

Serena turned around, "Don't rely on people to do your dirty work, if you need to talk to Scott, then own up to what you did"

Jean blinked, "What?"

"It's all over the campus, Jean" Serena said, "You and Scott were engaged, this Logan guy came into the picture, and now you're with him and Scott's devastated"

"That's not how it all went down" Jean cast her eyes to the ground.

"No, but that's the Cliff Notes version" Serena lectured, "And now that precious Logan is out doing God knows what, you're stuck here trying to clean up the mess you made and hope things will be better for everyone. I may not have been here for that long, but I know when someone's trying to use my friendship as a personal gain. You want to be friends again with Scott? Leave him alone and move on, you made your choice to be with Logan and now you have to own up to it"

Jean's mouth was left open for a good couple of seconds as Serena took this time to walk around her, "Don't try to find advice with someone whose been in the same situation as Scott"

Serena turned the corner and stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed that Scott was out in the main hall of the library. From the looks of it, he heard every word that was exchanged in the aisle that Jean and Serena shared. Serena glanced back over to Jean Grey who seemed to have sensed a change in the air and looked over to her to try and confirm what she felt. Serena just ducked behind Scott and tried to get back to work, not wanting to be in between this lover's quarrel.

Jean slowly emerged from the aisle and stared at Scott as he inhaled and glanced down to the floor. Serena wanted to wait and see what was going to happen but she also didn't want to be around in case they made her a middle man once again. She turned her back on the couple and went to check on her twins drawings, oblivious to the drama around them.

Scott formed his jaw as he glanced up to Jean who was fidgeting her fingers. He knew Jean will not stop trying to get his attention until he gave her time.

"So this is what it's come to?" Scott asked, "Telling my friends to deliver a message?"

"Scott, you wouldn't talk to me" Jean took a step toward him.

"For good reason, Jean" Scott said louder than he should have, "You were the most loyal and faithful person I knew until Logan came around"

"I know, and damn it, I am sorry how things turned around" Jean blinked back the tears, "I should've told you the truth before you found out like that"

Scott huffed, "But you didn't… when Logan was here, you were around him all the time but now that he's gone on a solo road trip, you thought now would be a good time to say you are sorry"

"I should've said it earlier" Jean let out.

"Again, but you didn't" Scott sighed, "Anyways, your streak is over now"

Jean glanced up, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, Logan just pulled up the driveway" Scott informed, "You can leave me and my friends alone"

Jean opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, Serena couldn't help but notice a slight happiness to her expression when she heard he was back. Scott ran a hand through his hair as he walked off to the side and motioned to the door. Jean glanced from the door then to Scott who was avoiding her gaze yet again. She looked torn but Serena already knew where she was going to go.

Jean quickly walked out of the library without even glancing to Serena as the other woman watched her leave. Serena glanced over to her friend who seemed frozen in place, knowing that he was broken from having to deliver good news to her. Before Serena could even step closer to Scott, he turned and bolted out of the library from the other exit.


	11. Chapter 11

Serena knocked on the closed door for what felt like the 100th time already. Scott was a no show to his class which made the staff have quite the hiccup. She just had to secretly refrain from saying that the person who filled in for his class was, in fact, Logan. She had a feeling that Scott would stay holed up in his room being full of frustration and pissed that Logan took yet another thing from him without even trying.

She sighed and knocked again but louder and longer this time. Serena wondered where her friend had run off to and was worried that she didn't see him since this morning. She groaned as she felt the only way to get him to open up was to open up the door.

"_Come on, Scott" _Serena said, "_Open up the door"_

"_Leave me alone" _Scott replied.

"_I can't" _she answered back, "_Or at least, I don't want to"_

"_I'm fine, Serena, go and be with your kids," _Scott said.

"_They're in bed" _Serena replied back, "_And fine would mean that you were going about your day like nothing happened, instead, you missed your class and meals"_

"_One day of being alone doesn't hurt," _Scott said, "_I'll see you tomorrow"_

"_Okay, but just to let you know, tomorrow is also in 15 minutes so I think I can wait a little while longer" _Serena responded.

"_What will it take for you to go away!" _Scott let out.

"_Opening the door and letting me in" _Serena responded.

She waited a little while longer after he didn't seem to reply back to her last statement. Serena glanced down to the door panel but could barely make out a light in the room. She sighed as she decided that maybe bugging him wasn't what he needed right now. She got up from the doorframe and turned to leave back to her room when she heard the door unlock. Serena turned around to see Scott's ruby lens peeking out from the closed space.

Serena moved up her arm and revealed liquor, "I got this from the store"

"Alcohol isn't allowed on the premises" Scott responded.

Serena scoffed, "Come on, like you ever followed that rule?"

Scott shrugged, "I guess it can help"

He left the door open so Serena felt that was in invitation to walk in. She closed the door behind her and took in the room that they were in. The first thing she noticed was that the room was bigger than hers, a slight jealousy went through her but she brushed it off as she figured it was because Scott and Jean were in a relationship and needed more space. She also noticed that Jean must've left the room because there was visible empty spaces in noticeable places, which Serena could guess it was only fair since she left him. The last thing she noticed, was a mess.

Even though the space looked empty, there was still a lot of clothes thrown everywhere on the floor. Scott knew his place was a mess as he was busying himself with putting everything that was on the floor away. Serena couldn't deny a low whistle coming out of her lips as she slowly walked over to a desk chair, picked up a pair of jeans, and tossed them on the floor before she sat down and took the place all in. Scott muttered a sorry as he picked up the pants and put them away.

Serena took this time to open the bottle and just drink straight from it, letting the alcohol burned as she was hoping it would suppress her motherly instincts. A part of her wanted to yell about the mess he made but another part wanted to help him. She chose neither as Scott crammed everything into his closet and closed the door before turning to her.

"You really need to get your life together" Serena said, "I highly doubt that the whole mess started when Logan came back"

"I hadn't had time to clean up" Scott mumbled.

"You know, if Anthony had his room like this" Serena glanced around, "I would definitely lock him in here until it was spotless"

"What are you a mom?" Scott snapped before he said, "Oh, wait…"

Serena raised an eyebrow, "Back to yelling at me again?"

"No, it's just-" Scott sighed, "I had a pretty banged up day"

"I can tell" Serena nodded.

"I felt like everything was finally going into place and I was getting back to being the old me again" Scott began, "But then I saw Logan pull up and I figured I'd go back to avoiding them no matter how hard a try and then I heard Jean trying to ask you to be the messenger and just everything went downhill from there"

Serena leaned forward with the open bottle between them. Scott glanced to the glass before he took it without question and sipped long and hard on it. Serena couldn't help but be impressed at how he seemed to be taking all of this hard. She knew what it felt like, but she was forced to go away from Jax, not forced to stay in the same place. Now with Logan coming back, it seemed that all of her hard work of making him forget about Jean, just came flooding back.

Something snapped in her as she remembered what Jean Grey had said about Scott this morning. She couldn't stop thinking about it over and over as she spent the rest of her day in the library where the quietest room was the loudest with her own thoughts. A faint smile broke through as she knew what she should do and it just might cheer him up. Serena leaned in to show her bright smile as Scott looked confused for a little bit.

"Let's go on vacation" Serena began, "You, me, and the kids, it'll be fun! We can leave on Friday and be back on Sunday. It's the review period anyways so the majority will be studying and reviewing their work so you don't have to teach. What do you say?"

"I know it's the blackout period but doesn't that mean you will be busy in the end. Everyone goes to the library during that time" Scott said, "As much as I would love to go, we can't. We have to be there for the students and everything"

"But being here with the students also means being here with Jean and Logan popping up everywhere" Serena said, "And it's the weekend, remember? My library hours are from Monday- Friday, we'll be fine"

Scott tightened his jaw upon hearing Logan's name so he nodded, "Fine, we'll go but what about Friday? Who's going to cover for that?"

"I have someone in mind" Serena winked.


	12. Chapter 12

"How in the hell did you get a guy like Logan to be in the library for the weekend?!" David asked, excitedly.

"It pays off being the Headmaster's daughter, plus he's never seen me before" Serena loaded up the car, "Sometimes, you have to use the daddy card in order to get what you want"

David smiled wickedly, "Man, sometimes I wish I was a girl"

Serena gave her brother a quizzical look before he said, "That came out wrong"

She nodded, "A little bit"

"So! You and Scott are taking the kids out for a little vacation" David said slowly, "Looks like something's between you guys"

Serena rolled her eyes, "David, I'm only bringing him out because it's a bit harsh what happened here. Besides, now that I have Logan sitting on my job, that means that they won't go out of town while we're out of town… sort of like an insurance policy"

"I'm impressed" David said, "But I'm not stupid, I know there's something between the two of you"

Serena opened her mouth to fight back when she looked past her brother to see Scott holding Aria on his waist and leading a jumping Anthony by the hand. She felt a slow and sudden warmth spread through her at the vision that they pulled off, she even had a slight thought of the twins being Scott's and not Jax's. Just that little thought made David's back straighten up a little before he turned and looked over to Serena. When her eyes connected with her brother's, she knew he heard her thoughts as he chuckled and went over to the stairs. Anthony ran over to his uncle and jumped into his arms at full speed as David spun him around.

"Make sure you don't embarrass your mom so much on this trip" David said, "But always ask _are we there yet _every five minutes"

"Don't do that, David" Serena let out, "He'll take you seriously"

"I know" David shrugged, "That's why I want him to do it"

"I won't do it, mommy!" Aria let out.

"Thank you, Aria" Serena smiled, "Did you say bye to your grandparents?"

"They said they'll meet us out in front" David glanced back.

Almost right on cue, Charles and Rebecca walked down the gravel path that would've eventually led to the backyard. Serena could tell from the looks of her mother's clothing that she was in the garden and their father was accompanying her. Upon seeing their grandparents, the twins yelled out their names and raced over to the small woman and man on the wheelchair.

Anthony climbed up onto his grandfather's chair and hugged him tightly as Rebecca lifted Aria up in the air, but with her super strength, it was a lot farther up than most people. Serena couldn't help but let out a big gasp as her heart skipped a beat. Scott heard it and turned and let out a chuckle in her direction as Serena composed herself, trying to remember that she too has been thrown up like that and she was fine. Rebecca and Charles exchanged grandchildren so they each could have a turn to hug and say their goodbyes as they made their way over to the group. Serena smiled down to her parents and waved at them, knowing a weekend wasn't as long as the kids were thinking.

"Do you have everything, dear?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, everything's all packed"

She went on, "What about snacks? Toys? Did they go to the bathroom already?"

"They did," Scott said, "But it's not an all bad drive, only two hours"

Serena let out a mock laugh at that thinking when Aria's small voice said, "Are we moving away again?"

Serena glanced down, "No, honey, we'll come back"

"We're not leaving anytime soon are we?" Anthony asked, "Grandma was saying how they decorate the whole house like a big haunted mansion! I already told her I would help her"

Serena glanced to her parents before she said, "We are not leaving even after Christmas, now hurry up! Let's go on our vacation! Lots to do, so little time!"

Serena stole a glance to her parents one more time as Rebecca couldn't hold back the tears and Charles nodded to her.

She blew a kiss to them, something she regretted not doing on her last night as she climbed into the passenger said. Scott shook hands with everyone as if this was his first time meeting her parents. He eagerly waved and ran around the car and jumped into the driver's side.

Serena watched him before she noticed Jean Grey lingering behind a curtain from the second floor. She bowed her head down and dropped the curtain before the redheaded woman disappeared completely. For once, Scott didn't seem to notice her presence as he started up the car and went around the roundabout to leave. Serena felt her heart pounding out of her chest as a smile lingered on her lips. She turned and looked to her kids as they eagerly talked at the same time about what they were planning on doing once they got to their destination.

"I'm going to swim in the lake, like a mermaid!"

"I'm going to go fishing and get a thousand fish for everyone to eat"

"I hope there is a swing by the lake, I would pretend I'm flying"

"Did I bring my giant frisbee? I can't remember"

"Yes, you did, bud" Scott answered, "I packed it in myself"

"Oh, cool!" Anthony said, "Scott, you're going to play with me when we get there, right?"

"Of course!"

"What about me?" Aria whined, "I thought you said you were going to play with me?"

"Well, I am sorry if I am not worthy of my children's attention" Serena spoke up"

"Nevermind!" Aria turned to Anthony, "I got the better person to play"

Serena couldn't help but chuckle as Anthony and Aria started to have a debate on who was the better playmate. She stole a glance over to Scott who chuckled and shook his head at their conversation. He decided to divert their debate by turning on music, which immediately got Aria's attention. Scott glanced to her and by the movement of his cheek, she could tell he winked at her. She gave her nod of approval before she quickly turned away to hide the blush appearing on her face.


	13. Soundtrack

_**Wild World- Cat Stevens**_

_**Mrs. Robinson- Simon & Garfunkel**_

_**Tiny Dancer- Elton John**_

_**Dancing in the Moonlight- King Harvest**_

_**Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison**_

_**The Weight- the Band**_

_**Go Your Own Way- Fleetwood Mac**_

_**Peace Train- Cat Stevens**_

_**Interested in listening to the music? **__Go to and search my username and look for the picture, there you will see all of the soundtracks I have made for every story I write! Enjoy!_


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